RantCrush Top 5: August 9, 2017

The Trump Administration has been telling staff at the U.S. Department of Agriculture not to use the term “climate change” in reports. Instead, they are instructed to call it “weather extremes.” Another phrase to avoid is “climate change adaptation,” which is to be called “resilience to weather extremes.” “Reduce greenhouse gases” is also blacklisted. That should be replaced with the convenient phrase “build soil organic matter, increase nutrient use efficiency.”

Emails obtained by the Guardian also show confused staffers discussing how to properly talk about these issues, as the new administration doesn’t prioritize fighting climate change like the Obama Administration did. President Donald Trump has repeatedly denied that climate change is taking place and that it is caused by humans. He recently nominated Sam Clovis to be the chief scientist of the USDA. Clovis is not a scientist, has called climate research “junk science,” and used to blog about progressives as “race traders and race traitors.” “These records reveal Trump’s active censorship of science in the name of his political agenda,” said Meg Townsend of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Climate change isn’t like Voldemort. Not saying its name won’t keep it from happening.https://t.co/INKpLl93xS

— NJ March for Science (@NJScienceMarch) August 7, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.